The oil of the menorah is a serious fire hazard and causes fast-spreading fires.
SHEEPSHEAD BAY, Brooklyn —
An unattended lit menorah has been blamed for sparking a fast-moving, early morning house fire in Brooklyn that killed a mother and three of her children, according to FDNY Fire Marshals.
A fire ripped through the Brooklyn home of the Azan family on Dec. 18, 2017. Mother Aliza Azan and three of her children were killed. (Family via Facebook)
Flames broke out shortly after 2 a.m. Monday at the home on East 14th Street between Avenue S and Avenue T in Sheepshead Bay, officials said. It began on the first floor and quickly spread throughout the home.
Aliza Azan, 39, two of her sons, 11-year-old Moshe and 7-year-old Yitzah, and her 3-year-old daughter Henrietta were all killed in the fire, according to police.
Her husband Joseph Azan and their 15-year-old son are in critical condition, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. The couple's 16-year-old niece also is in critical condition after she jumped from a window to escape the flames and broke her pelvis.
Two boys, ages 12 and 13, are hospitalized. Five firefighters suffered minor injuries, Nigro said.
"Everybody in New York City grieves with this family today," he said.
A service was scheduled for Monday evening then the victims' bodies will be flown to Israel for burial.
The fire comes about 2 1/2 years after another Orthodox Jewish family lost seven children when a hotplate malfunctioned on Shabbat.
At the time, Joseph Azan posted about the tragedy on Facebook, noting, "I know the family. It's something you can't understand. Three of the kids are studying with my kids."
Counselors will be brought in to schools, including Yeshiva Ateret Torah, where some of the Azan children attended.
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On Sunday night, the sixth night of Hannukah, the Azan family lit a large menorah in the living room window of their Brooklyn home, neighbors said. The menorah burned with oil, commemorating how in about 200 B.C. a tiny bit of oil miraculously kept a Temple’s menorah lit for eight days, according to Jewish tradition.
At some point in the night, the family’s six children, their parents and a cousin fell asleep. The menorah was left burning, unattended.
Then, at about 2 a.m., flames and smoke enveloped the home. The blaze, ignited by the menorah, spread from the first floor, to the second floor, to the attic, fire officials said. Raging through the open stairways, it trapped three family members as they slept on the second floor — the mother, 39-year-old Aliza Azan, and three of her young children, police said.
The father, identified by local news outlets as Yosi Azan, 45, managed to escape the second floor, helping two teenagers jump off the front roof. Two other younger boys, who had been sleeping toward the back of the home’s first floor, fled through a side door.
The father, severely burned, tried to go back in to save the rest of his family, but couldn’t, Daniel A. Nigro, the New York City fire commissioner, said in a news conference.
Firefighters arrived at the home in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn less than three minutes after a neighbor reported the blaze. But by the time they got there, the flames met them at the home’s front door.
Upstairs, they found Aliza Azan dead, along with her three children, Moshe Azan, 11; Yitzah Azan, 7; and Henrietta Azan, 3, police said.
The father and two teenagers were taken to a hospital in critical condition. At least one of the teenagers suffered a broken pelvis from jumping off the roof. The two younger boys, who escaped through a side door, are in stable condition, Nigro said.
Yosi Azan “acted very courageously and tried desperately,” Nigro said. “Hopefully it didn’t cost him his life . . . but it may.”
Fire officials said a smoke alarm was activated on the first floor, alerting the two younger boys to evacuate the home. Officials have not yet identified any other smoke detectors on the other floors.
The cause of the three-alarm fire, fire marshals announced, was accidental, sparked by an “unattended lit menorah.” The menorah’s small glass cups may have cracked due to extended exposure to heat, causing the oil to spill and flames to spread, a fire official told the New York Times.
Azan was placed on a respirator Monday at Staten Island University Hospital, and was unable to speak to relatives and friends who had shown up to pray, a family friend, Pini Shaool, 46, told the New York Daily News.
“He opened his eyes and recognized his cousin. So hopefully he’ll get better,” Shaool said. “His breathing is difficult.”
The deaths — four in one family — struck at the heart of Brooklyn’s Jewish community in the midst of the Festival of Lights, a time meant for celebration, not mourning.
The Azans are Syrian Jews who came to the U.S. from Israel about 15 years ago, the New York Times reported. Aliza Azan’s father, Avraham Hamra, is the former chief rabbi of the Syrian Jews and moved to Israel more than 10 years ago, according to the New York Daily News. Her brother is a leader in Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community.
Yosi Azan has worked for many years at a shop called the Hat Box on Coney Island Ave in Brooklyn, where he steams and mends high-end black felt headpieces worn by Orthodox Jews.
“Just yesterday, I spent an hour and a half with him buying stuff for my kids,” friend Moises Katz told ABC 7. “It’s just a shock.”
“We know them very well,” family friend and neighbor Alan Sokol told the New York Daily News. “Our community couldn’t even work here today. We walked around like zombies.”
The deadly blaze underscored the heightened risk of fires that comes during the winter months and holiday season, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement
“Over the last couple days, several other major fires have caused many injuries — some very serious — and displaced others from their homes,” de Blasio said. “During the holiday season, we all need to be cautious with decorations, electric lights, candles, space heaters and other items.”
Nigro cautioned families of all faiths not to leave candles unattended as they celebrate their holidays.
“The time of year makes it that much sadder, and our traditions open us up to more possibilities,” Nigro said in a news conference, telling families to “celebrate, but celebrate safely.”
“At this time of year . . . it just tears your heart out,” he said.
Josh Mehlman, the chairman of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, told NY 1 the minimum time a menorah should be lit is a half-hour.
“Some people put it out after that time,” he said. “If they have to leave, some people leave it til it burns out. But it’s always best to not ever leave it unintended.”
The Monday morning fire also stirred memories of a 2015 blaze that killed seven siblings from an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn. The fire was caused by a faulty hot plate the family had been using to keep food warm during the Sabbath, the sacred day of the week when some Jewish families refrain from using electricity or lighting a flame.
At the time of that tragedy, Yosi Azan posted on Facebook that he knew the family.
“It’s something you can’t understand. Three of the kids are studying with my kids.”
The mother of the children killed in the 2015 fire, Gayle Sassoon, called the New York Board of Rabbis executive vice president to ask what she could do to help the Azan family, AM New York reported.
In a Monday evening menorah-lighting ceremony inside Brooklyn Borough Hall, those present honored the Azan family with a moment of silence.
Later in the night, mourners gathered on the street in front of Shevet Achim, a Brooklyn synagogue, for a memorial procession. Escorted by police vehicles, the bodies of the four deceased family members arrived. A sea of people surrounded the hearse and cars, some of them chanting and praying, others wailing, videos show.
However, there was no funeral service held inside the synagogue, and no eulogies were delivered. Certain mourning ceremonies are limited during Hanukkah. The family planned to fly the bodies to Israel to be buried.
One mourner told ABC 7 the night was “very painful.”
“The brothers were falling apart, the whole family is falling apart,” he told ABC 7. “They are an amazing family.”
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Warning over fires caused by Chanukah candles
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it attended two fires this weekend caused by menorah candles
People celebrating Chanukah have been warned to take care with menorah candles after two fires were caused by unattended candles.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it attended two fires this weekend caused by menorah candles, which have caused severe damage to the homes involved.
Simon Ryder, watch manager, from Broughton Fire Station, said in both incidents “the residents have left the menorah candles burning and left their homes only to return to serious damage.
“What has been used is a candle substitute that looks a bit like a plastic shot glass filled with olive oil which is then placed on the candle holder.
“However, it appears as if these could be being placed at a slight angle so the flame is catching the plastic at the side and causing the burning fuel to drip down the side.”
Firefighters were called to Bishops Road, Prestwich, at 8pm on Friday after a fire started in the dining room.
Mr Ryder said that when crews arrived it looked like the fire was out, but on closer inspection the oil from the candle had dripped down the wall and got under the floorboards where it had continued to burn.
The second fire took place on Saturday.
Firefighters were called to a house in Salford, where the candle had set fire to a piece of paper and spread, causing severe fire damage to the dining room and had caused smoke damage throughout.
Mr Ryder continued: “Unfortunately on both occasions the inner doors were not closed, so the rest of the house suffered smoke damage and in the Bishops Road incident there was a thick layer of black soot covering everything inside.
“I would urge people to take great care with candles, ensure they are placed in a sturdy holder away from flammable materials and never leave them unattended.
“When leaving the house or going to bed close internal doors and make sure you have a working smoke alarm on every level of your property.”
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it would be visiting homes in both areas to remind people about safety.
Ben Levy, group manager for Salford and Trafford, said the visits would “ensure we don’t see any further incidents like this and we will also be linking in with partner agencies and with our local Jewish community.
“Luckily nobody was injured but the families involved now have to face the devastation of not being able to return to their homes during what should be a special time of celebration with loved ones. We want to wish everyone a happy and safe Chanukah.”
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RELIGIOUS CANDLE SAFETY
Lit candles are used in religious services, in places of worship, and in the home.
Whether you are using one candle, or more than one on a candelabra, kinara, or menorah, make sure you take a few moments to learn about using candles safely.
Candle Safety
- Candles should be placed in a sturdy candle holder.
Handheld candles should not be passed from one person to another at any time.
When lighting candles at a candle lighting service, have the person with the unlit candle dip their candle into the flame of the lit candle. - Lit candles should not be placed in windows where a blind or curtain could catch fire.
- Candles placed on, or near tables, altars, or shrines, must be watched by an adult.
- If a candle must burn continuously, be sure it is enclosed in a glass container and placed in a sink, on a metal tray, or in a deep basin filled with water.
General Fire Safety
• Matches and lighters should be stored out of the reach of children, in a locked cabinet.
• Places of worship should be equipped with a fire detection and sprinkler system.
• A home should have smoke alarms on every level, outside each sleeping area and inside each bedroom. For the best protection, interconnect the alarms, so when one sounds, they all sound. Test all smoke alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button. Replace smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.
• Plan and practice a home fi e escape drill that includes two ways out of every room and an outside meeting place.
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Hanukkah started and for those of you who are not aware, one of the traditions of the Hanukkah celebration is the menorah. The menorah is a candelabra with nine branches that are lit during the eight-day Hanukkah holiday, and is used to celebrate a miracle, when the Jews found only enough pure olive oil to light the menorah for one day after a successful revolt centuries ago. The miracle was that the supply lasted eight days, until a new supply could be obtained. Nowadays, the menorah has eight candles to light each night during Hanukkah.
In addition to the menorah, another Hanukkah tradition is making latkes, pancakes made of potato and onion and fried in oil—another celebration of a small amount of oil keeping a long-lasting flame. And even as careful as you can be, most house fires are started in the kitchen, which means that you should be extra vigilant when using hot oil for cooking.
With one to eight candles burning nightly plus hot oil or grease, there’s bound to be some fire-related accidents. Please review this handy list of safety tips to practice during the Hanukkah celebration to keep your family safe and sound. Don’t ruin the holiday by accidentally burning your house down!
- This week is the perfect time to test the smoke detectors in your house, and change the batteries if needed.
- Buy a fire extinguisher and keep it near the place you’ll be setting up the menorah.
- Place the menorah on a non-flammable, solid and level surface.
- Make sure all candles are secure in their holders.
- Keep all flammable materials, including drapes, blinds, decorations and plants, away from the menorah.
- Before lighting your menorah, make sure that it is meant to be lit, and not for decorative purposes only.
- Electric menorahs should not be used if wiring insulation is frayed or broken.
- Never, and we mean NEVER, leave a lit menorah unattended.
- When cooking latkes, keep children away from the hot oil; ideally, keep children away from the kitchen.
- Keep frying pans on the back burners of the stove, and keep the handle of the pan(s) away from the edge so children cannot reach it.
- If cooking oil catches fire, turn off the gas or electric range and cover the pan with its lid—if you can do so at no risk to yourself. Ideally, use a fire extinguisher appropriate for grease fires.
- Never throw water or a wet towel on an oil fire, as that will cause the hot oil to splatter on you or ignite something nearby.